GRK 2032:  Urban Water Interfaces (UWI)

• Subject Area: Water Research
• Term: from 2015 to 2024
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 248198858

Water quality and quantity in metropolitan areas will continue to face numerous threats. Climate and demographic trends, ongoing urbanization and changes in water consumption will further increase the pressure. Ensuring sustained functioning of urban water systems under both current and future conditions urgently requires management based on a solid system understanding. To provide here substantial contributions we will continue and enhance our collaboration among engineers and natural scientists at TUB and IGB to investigate important natural and technical urban water interfaces and also involve national and international partners. The overall aims of the second funding period are to (i) advance the understanding of the functioning of individual natural and technical interfaces and their quantitative impact on urban water systems, (ii) predict future changes by integrating the mechanistic knowledge into scenarios for subsequent modelling and (iii) detect vulnerable and resilient conditions in urban water systems to derive adaptations for improved water management. Future solutions to urban water issues require a consideration of an increasing number of compartments and subsystems and have to stronger involve aquatic communities as their interaction may considerably effect the overall system behaviour. Here urban water interfaces play a key role and require a more integrative approach than is currently practice. To further collaboration within UWI, we have reorganized the project structure based on four common topics that we identified: (i) interfaces in urban watersheds (ii) interfaces in urban freshwater ecosystems, (iii) interfaces urban hyporheic zones and (iv) interfaces in sewer systems. The four common topics are connected by three common approaches in methods, techniques and applications: (i) enhanced understanding of interface processes in natural and technical urban water systems, (ii) development of conceptual and predictive models and (iii) application of new knowledge to urban water system management. Owing to replacements of researchers in the consortium, urban ecohydrology and urban water quality modelling will be strengthened starting with the 2nd cohort. We will further develop the qualification programme for the doctoral students to shorten the times needed for completion of the dissertations and to transfer the knowledge from fundamental research and innovation to water management practice. We particularly stress the following components: three newly developed core courses, systematic adoption of the interdisciplinary boards of supervisors and the establishment of a Student Research Council.

• DFG Programme: Research Training Groups
• Applicant Institution: Technische Universität Berlin
• Participating Institution: Leibniz-Institut für Gewässerökologie und Binnenfischerei (IGB); im Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V.
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr.-Ing. Reinhard Hinkelmann
• Participating Researchers: Dr. Burga Braun; Professor Dr. Mark Gessner; Professor Dr. Ferdinand Hellweger; Professorin Dr. Sabine Hilt; Professor Dr. Michael Hupfer; Professorin Dr. Birgit Kleinschmit; Dr. Jörg Lewandowski; Professorin Dr. Eva Nora Paton; Dr. Anke Putschew; Professor Dr. Dietmar Stephan; Professorin Dr. Doerthe Tetzlaff